Paying For College

As a high school teacher, I encourage all of my students, from ninth to twelfth grade, to consider how their actions can help them get into college. Some of my students tell me that they have other plans, or that college isn’t for them, but I feel like part of my job is to encourage my students to pursue options that will lead them to a lifetime of learning and growing academically after high school ends. This is the experience I had in high school, and I want my students to have the same encouragement that was a part of my life.

My concern for my students is that I’m setting them up for a lifetime of debt. (See the recent article in The Baltimore Sun titled “Growing Concern for Students Overwhelmed by Education Loans"). The advice that I received when I was in high school was to simply worry about getting into college, and that I could easily pay off the debt later, with a combination of small government-sponsored loans and high-paying scholarships. Well, the world is a different place now, and many students now leave college with considerable debt and decreased means with which they might pay it off.

In addition to encouraging my students to go to college, I think it is just as much my duty to encourage students to take advantage of financial counseling provided by colleges. College is an expensive undertaking and I would hate for any of my students who have worked so hard to get in to have to leave for financial reasons that they could have predicted. I hope that the guidance department at my school is similarly watching out for the seniors as they get into college.

The challenge for me will be to give this advice in a way that still encourages my students to attend college, or pursue some other avenue that will allow them to continue to grow academically.

Baltimore’s Magnet Schools in Question; Implications for BCPSS Reputation

One of the greatest stigmas against Baltimore’s educational system (or any urban system, for that matter) is the “zip code effect”: the notion that students are confined to the educational institutes in close proximity to their residences, for better or for worse.

Today, Baltimore’s three most prestigious high schools – City, Poly, and Western – are defying that stigma, proudly accepting students based on academic merit rather than domestic location.

Might that change, though? If recent media reports are correct, Alonso and BCPSS might not have so much boasting power that students actually are capable of an excellent education via a magnet setting. A recent Sun article explored the recent declining SAT test scores of these three schools, and exposed their startlingly low college graduation rates (39% and 46% for City and Poly, respectively). The article continues,“The quality of those schools… is a drawing card that attracts families to Baltimore.” I’d argue that these schools not only represent a hope for potential new residents, but they also represent a hope for Baltimore natives who would otherwise be forced to attend a zoned school within the proximity of their residence.

If City, Western, and Poly can no longer boast impressive college graduation rates, SAT scores, or (at the very least) an HSA passing rate competitive with the state of Maryland, Baltimore City Schools might receive even more criticism from those who claim that BCPSS can no longer boast a way for students to reach academic heights by their merit and determination. Some might argue that, for the sake of students in the district, it’s imperative that these schools remain enduring, educational strongholds.

BTU Contract Under Review, Merit Pay?

Earlier this week Baltimore City Public Schools announced that negotiations for a new contract between BTU and the school district are ongoing; for the time being, the city will use the contract from the 2009-2010 school year until the details of the current contract are fleshed out. Many changes that Dr. Alonso is pushing for arose from a third party evaluation/consultation of the school district performed in June. The evaluation suggested that teachers’ pay be increased; however, it also criticized the current contract for its emphasis on tenure over performance as well as the city’s tendency to circulate unwanted yet tenured teachers rather than cutting ties with them. One of the most provocative reforms under scrutiny involves teacher pay. Dr. Alonso has suggested that the new contract will imbue a “remarkable re-conception of how teachers get paid." The city schools’ CEO has attempted to allay fears from critics by stating that teacher pay will reflect student growth rather than raw scores on a standardized test. How he plans to measure student growth was not mentioned.

Most of me likes the idea of merit based pay, at least in theory. I agree that basing pay solely on the number of years you have served a school district appears to give teachers no incentive to continually evaluate and improve upon their effectiveness. From the same standpoint, the current pay system does not reward the best teachers for their amazing efforts. In other words, to the best of my knowledge, I do not know of any incentive based bonuses that Baltimore City currently offers. Some critics to the possible change in the pay scale cite reasons that usually shift responsibility. Others cite the idea that not every subject is evaluated with a standardized test. And part of me does seriously question the degree to which human nature will be involved, especially pertaining to teacher evaluations for those educators who teach non-tested subjects. Suppose an amazing art teacher butts heads with her principal and severs their relationship. I guess you could set up some system for appeal and encourage teachers to preserve both student created and teacher created artifacts that can be used as evidence for their effectiveness. An extremely convoluted situation remains, nonetheless.

Was Maryland's Selection as a Finalist to Obama's Race to the Top Initiative Unfair?

As Maryland has recently qualified as a finalist for the Obama administration’s Race to the Top stimulus grant competition, many aspersions have been levied against the state for the previous failures in a number of school systems. In particular, critics point to the fact that Maryland was ranked 35th in data quality and 40th in the promotion of charter schools (by the Department of Education). Additionally, it is noted that while Maryland has increased education spending by $1.3 billion over the last decade, the increase of spending has “done nothing for students” in Prince George’s County and Baltimore.
In particular, an editorial in the Washington Examiner suggests that the criteria for selecting the winners of the Race to the Top competition should have rewarded school districts who have made progress in terms of educational innovation. The writer points specifically to New Orleans’ Recovery School District’s status as the “top ‘reform friendly’ school district in the nation” as well as Colorado for its implementation of innovative school reform.
Others have also argued that due to the current economic hardships plaguing our country, stimulus money spent in the form of a competition is irresponsible and unfair. Proponents of this position have espoused that each state has an equal right to claim their share of the money.
I am not very well versed in the progress that Louisiana and Colorado has had educationally in the past few years. I understand that Maryland as a whole has a very good reputation in terms of its educations systems, particularly regarding graduation rates. Further, while the editorial vaguely points to the idea that the extra money spent on Maryland education over the past ten years has “done nothing for students” in Baltimore, I have heard from other sources that Baltimore’s graduation rate as of last year is at a fifty year high. I just wonder how much of the author’s claims are based on real data and how much of the claim is based on second hand generalizations.

Should the Ability to Reconcile Be a Requirement of Rhee's Position?

With the DC primary election looming three days away, DC journalists, officials, and educators continue to voice their concerns in desperation for their cause: it's assumed that a win for mayoral candidate Adrian Fenty will guarantee that Michelle Rhee will stay in office, while a win for Vince Gray would precede the end of her leadership of DCPS.

Three days before the election is arguably the most important time for both sides to make their final case, so such arguments merit our attention now more than ever. The Washington Post's Colbert I. King makes an especially interesting point, citing Rhee's inability to reconcile racial tension. He laments, "Rhee's poll numbers… are in the pits among black residents." After Rhee campaigned in predominantly white districts this weekend, King continued, "How can black parents now trust her to be fair? Regardless of Tuesday's outcome at the polls, Michelle Rhee should clean out her desk."

Although Colbert uses no data on students, schools, achievement, or even financial efficiency, some, like Colbert, argue that Rhee’s support among racial lines has become increasingly polarized. Should Rhee’s ability to “extend the olive branch" to all people be a prerequisite for Rhee's right to retain her position? To what extent does this factor matter amidst the greater goal of getting our students to succeed in the classroom?

Although specifics are not as heated at the moment, this topic also could apply to Baltimore city. Like Rhee, BCPSS superintendent Andres Alonso is not of the same race as the majority of the students he serves, but yet, he has not received the same scrutiny. Why is Rhee the subject of such criticism while Alonso is not?